Chapter Text
Lava crackled from everywhere; pouring down from the Nether roof, filling the lava lakes and pouring down the steep hills of netherrack. On the edge of a large lava lake, stood a bastion of moderate size, streams of lava flowing around it. The thick haze smelling of smoke and brimstone from the burning netherrack clung to everything in sight, especially the brute sitting and staring off into the seemingly endless lava lake.
His hooves just barely avoided touching the lava, though the heat certainly felt good on them. He sat hunched over, his pink hair falling down to his shoulders in a mess. His eyes stared out over the lava, but they were glazed over as though he wasn’t actually seeing anything. Slowly, his hand fiddled with his clothes as he listened.
“Techno Blade.”
“Strider! How cute!”
“Did you hear a ghast?”
“Techno.”
“E.”
“Guys, shut up.”
“There’s someone.”
Voices spoke all around Techno, despite being alone. He made sure of that long before he came out to the lava lake. His ears perked up, he could hear someone, at least he thought he could. He couldn’t rely on his hearing most of the time.
“Techno!” yet another voice screamed from behind him. It wasn’t one of his normal voices, he knew that voice by name. He turned his head, seeing the little piglin piglet running at him excitedly. “Techie, I was looking for you!”
“What are you doin’ out of the bastion, Blitz?” Techno spoke slowly as he turned his whole body so he could face her. He stayed sitting, knowing she would barely come up to his knees if he was standing.
“I told you, I was looking for you,” Blitz said. She had her little hands on her hips like a mother scolding her child. Techno snorted at her. “But more important, what are you doing out here?”
“Listenin’ to the lava. I like havin’ some time to myself after a long day,” Techno said.
Blitz’ eyes were staring back at Techno with a perplexed look to them. “How do you make days longer? I didn’t even know that was possible,” she said.
Techno laughed. “It wasn’t actually longer, Blitz, it just felt that way. I’m not magic, I can’t make the days actually longer.”
“Oh,” she said slowly. She rocked back on her hooves for a moment. “Do you think anyone can?”
Techno hummed as he thought for a moment. “Hmm, probably, but I’ll probably never meet them.” He laughed quietly along with Blitz. “So, what are you actually doin’ here, squirt?”
“Well, I wanted to find you ‘cause Trance, Metal, and Disco won’t stop calling me small.”
Techno pulled her close, rubbing the top of her head. “Well it’s natural they’ll call you small, it’s natural. You wanna know why, Blitz?” He waited until she nodded to continue. “It’s because you are so small, but that’s okay, ‘cause I’m so big.” He stood, picking her up and placing her on his shoulder. “You shouldn’t go wanderin’ around without someone big, you know. That’s why we live inside a bastion.”
“I know, Techie, but I wanted to see you,” she said, hugging Techno’s head. He moved her arm away from his eyes so he could see still.
Techno carried Blitz back into the bastion through the main entrance, despite having to duck a bit so he wouldn’t hit his head or Blitz’ on their way in. They walked straight to their designated area in the bastion, a small apartment-like area where Techno and Blitz, their three brothers, and their father--an older piglin named Folk--lived. With the arrival of Techno and Blitz, that marked everyone being present. Folk was bending over the fire, preparing a meal while the other boys were on the other side of the room, wrestling with each other.
“Just in time, Techno, food’s almost ready,” Folk said, waving briefly at Techno before he had to return to his cooking.
Techno set Blitz down away from the chaos before he looked back to his brothers. “C’mon guys, you heard Dad, stop messin’ around and get ready to eat,” Techno said, approaching the thee boys. As soon as he was close enough, one of them grabbed his arm and tried to pull him down.
“Come on, Techno, this is good practice for the tournament tomorrow,” Metal said. He was the one the grabbed Techno, he discovered, as he pulled him out.
“Yeah? Well to do well, you’re gonna have to eat well, and Dad’s workin’ hard to make sure we all can do that."
"C'mon, stop being such a buzzkill," Disco said as he tried to shove his older brother, Trance, out of the way. Trance wasn't having any of it, standing completely still like a brick wall.
"Disco, Trance, come sit down and eat your food," Techno said firmly before he turned back around to look at the table, where Folk was finishing up serving the meal, and Blitz and Metal were already eating. He sat down himself, watching his other two brothers come over without further arguments and sat with the family.
It inevitably didn't take very long for the topic of conversation to return to the tournament. It didn't surprise Techno anymore, considering all three of his brothers were excited about it for weeks to come. He just stayed out of it, at least as long as he could.
"Techno, you really should join, then we could really guarantee a win for the Blade family," Disco said.
Techno sighed and shook his head. "You know I can't do that, Disco," he said slowly.
"You can do whatever you want," Disco said, slapping his hand against the table.
Techno snorted, glaring at Disco for a moment before he continued. "I can't, Disco, I'm a brute, I'm not allowed to take part, I'm supposed to supervise it. Besides, it's supposed to be a fair fight anyway."
"Whatever, you've always been the boring one," Metal said.
"Yeah, but I've always kept you idiots and Blitz and Dad safe," Techno said.
Folk snickered behind his hand. "Now, boys, don't bicker at the table.”
“You’re laughing too,” Metal said.
“Listen to Dad,” Techno said. He was glad that dinner was almost done at this point, so he could take some time to think and be on his own. He loved his brothers, but their rowdiness often gave him headaches.
As soon as everyone was done eating, Folk had sent the younger siblings to bed, leaving Techno to quietly help clean up after the day. Folk often turned back to see what Techno was doing, smiling at him every time.
"Are you excited to supervise the tournament tomorrow?" Folk asked. He kept his voice low, not wanting to wake the others.
Techno shrugged, sighing quietly. "I guess so," he said. "A little nervous, you know? First time I ever done anythin' like this, and the other brutes are quite intimidatin'."
"Soul Sand, Hearty Tusk, and Skull Crusher all mean well, Techno, you know that," Folk said. He stopped what he was doing to turn back fully to Techno.
"Yeah, I do, but the whole pack will be watchin’…" Techno trailed off as his mind wandered, imagining all those eyes on him, all those voices uttering his name, all the expectations put upon him. They were something he was raised to be aware of and ready for his entire life leading up to tomorrow. He had to be ready, or he would have to be ready for failure, and that was not acceptable as a brute. All his lessons taught him that above all else.
"You'll do fine, Techno," Folk said, reaching up to squeeze Techno's shoulder, reassuring him not only through his words, but also through the simple touch. Techno certainly felt more confident with his father's support. "Now, don't you need to go find Soul Sand? I can finish here," Folk said.
"Right, I'll see you later then," Techno said as he started to walk out the front door. He knew Soul was most likely somewhere in the center of the bastion, that's where she said she should be anyway.
Before he got very far, he felt a pulling on his clothes, and with a quiet sigh, he turned around. It wasn’t surprising that it was Blitz, looking at him with tired eyes and worried beyond her years. “Where are you going now, Techie? I can’t sleep, can you lay with me?”
Techno kneeled down to her level. “I’m sorry little one, I can’t. I have to go talk to Soul Sand.”
“Oh, can I come with?”
“You need to sleep, okay? I promise we’ll do somethin’ later,” Techno continued, he stood back up, trying to usher her back to the house. She frowned, giving Techno some wide eyes that seemed to be bigger than her own head. “Now, don’t go given’ me those eyes, Blitz, you need your sleep, and I can’t bring you with.”
“Fine, but you gotta promise to do something else with me,” Blitz said, huffing and crossing her arms across her chest.
Techno ruffled her hair. “Yeah, of course, we’ll figure somethin’ out,” he said. “But only if you go back and go to sleep right now.”
That made Blitz stand up straight and give Techno a curt nod. “Okay, deal!” she said before she ran off. Techno watched as she went back into the house, waiting until the door closed again before he turned around to walk away. Techno wondered what Soul would say to him being late, not that it was entirely his fault.
Still, he walked directly to the center of the bastion, where they kept all their gold. Soul was there, working on organizing it and making sure it was all there. Techno stood in the doorway, watching as she moved so quickly. Despite being a brute, and much larger than any of the piglins in the bastion, she moved so carefully and with purpose. That’s what the pack admired about her--her unfettered grace.
The other two had their own things about them. Hearty Tusk was the oldest of the brutes. He had seen many battles and had many experiences. He was respected for his wisdom and for his strong love for the pack. Skull Crusher was younger than the other two brutes, and was actually not too much older than Techno in the long run, but very quickly he made a name for himself. He was well known for being ruthless, and for always stating his opinion. Techno put a lot of thought into what he wanted to be known for, and he ultimately knew that he really didn’t know.
“Techno,” Soul said without even looking at him. “You know I don’t like sulkers. You’re a brute, you should make your presence known.”
“Eh, I prefer to observe and wait for the right moment.”
“Sometimes, Techno, that 'right moment' will never come until it's too late, and by then everything you hold dear will be destroyed.” Soul finally turned to Techno, crossing her arms and watching Techno.
He huffed quietly. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”
“I just wanted to clarify what you need to do for the tournament tomorrow,” she said.
Techno hummed quietly. He already knew what would be expected of him, it wasn’t hard to guess, but he made sure to keep his eyes on Soul, listening to her as best he can.
“Any fights that break out that aren’t part of the tournament itself need to be broken up, you and Skull will probably end up dealing with those. We’ll have to judge calls in the tournament to make sure it remains fair. There’s announcements of fights that Hearty usually handles, and general supervision,” she said, though she could see that Techno was distracted, stuck in his own head like he always was. “You got it, Techno?”
Techno’s eyes focused back on Soul, and he nodded. “Yes, I did.”
“What’s on your mind, Techno? Why are you so distracted?”
Techno sighed. “It’s Blitz, she hasn’t really been sleeping at night ever since our mother died,” he said. He hated being so blunt about it, but he also knew that Soul wouldn’t let it go until he said something that was believable enough.
“She’s tough like all of her brothers, Techno, she’ll be alright,” Soul said. Her voice always had two versions, Techno knew. The first was her usual voice, the one that commanded respect and the second one was the one she was using now, the one that comforted even the most upset and heartbroken piglin. Techno hummed quietly in response. He wasn’t sure how to respond to her, but he was certainly happy that Soul continued to speak. “That being said, if she wants to be with you tomorrow, there is nothing wrong with that. You may be a brute, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a soft spot for your family.”
“She’ll be excited to hear that,” Techno said. “Anyway, unless there’s somethin’ else you need, I’m gonna head back.”
“No, that’s all I needed to talk to you about,” Soul said.
Wordlessly, Techno nodded and he left, resisting the urge to run back to his home to check up on Blitz. He kept his pace at a walk, trying to keep the sound of his hooves on the bricks as quiet as he could so he wouldn’t wake anyone.
As soon as he got back to the house, he immediately checked up on Blitz. It was clear that she was not sleeping, only pretending to sleep. There was no fooling Techno. He had seen her open her eyes when she heard Techno walk in. While he had a bed that was perfectly sized for him, there was no other place that he could think of than to lay down on Blitz’ tiny bed. He carefully curled around her, letting her snuggle up to him nice and close. He stroked her hair gently, knowing that the motion would eventually put her to sleep. He couldn’t fall asleep until he knew that Blitz had fully fallen asleep.